The Coalition for Global Peace (CGP) welcomes the triumph of diplomacy which culminated in the ceasefire that was brokered to put an end to the Israel-Iran war. This is a step forward in the world’s desire for a lasting peace in the Middle East.
The world watched with disbelief how the lingering Middle East crisis escalated with Israel’s unprovoked attack on Iran on June 13, 2025, while negotiations were going on between Iran and the US. The situation further got complicated with the US’s bombing of three nuclear sites in Iran on June 22, 2025.
The conflict fulfilled the long-held desire of the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, to go to war against Iran. Almost on a yearly basis, Mr Netanyahu had used the platform provided by the United Nations’ General Assembly to push his agenda to see the back of several governments in the Middle East. The attack on Iran, thus, had little to do with recent developments in the region as it was decades in the making. It is a sad fact of history that, in spite of the clear signs of an impending conflict, the world did little to save the situation.
A ceasefire in a war of this nature should not absolve parties of responsibility for their actions. CGP, therefore, strongly condemns the unprovoked attack on Iran by Israel and the US, and criticises the half-hearted negotiations facilitated by the US prior to the conflict, which appeared to enable Israel’s actions. Furthermore, we question the role of the International Atomic Energy Agency on the eve of Israel’s launch of the war.
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While the ceasefire is relieving to the world, it is important that political leaders take some lessons from the avoidable deaths and destruction that were witnessed in the past twelve days.
The current international system, as embodied by the United Nations, is broken. A system that ranks some countries as exceptional and elevates them above international law would promote global peace and security only in word, not action. This breeds a sense of immunity from scrutiny. The attendant impunity lies at the heart of the destruction that Israel has visited on Palestine for a long time.
This reality is an incentive for unilateralism. Wars are declared without regard for international law and conducted without respect for humanitarian law while ceasefires are brokered with limited or no influence of international institutions. The double standards enable a selective application of international law to nations and their leaders.
Unilateralism defeats whatever pretences powerful nations have about rules-based international order. It is antithetical to the multilateral framework that was architected after the Second World War.
CGP urges world leaders to take the Israel-Iran war as a wakeup call to reform and strengthen the United Nations and the international system that flows from it. The potency of the global body has been eroded by conflicting interests of global powers. The world needs an effective and strong UN.
Nations, like humans, must learn from history. No power lasts forever. Global power comes with global responsibility which should be exercised with humility. It is an irony of fate to see how successors of global powers of past ages line up behind the new movers and shakers in the global power dynamics.
In a highly interdependent world, nations should prioritise diplomacy over wars. Leaders must muster the political will to put an end to wanton deaths and destruction that conflicts inflict on the world. Human life is sacred and should not be regarded as an expendable piece of statistics.
CGP equally calls on world leaders to use the opportunity of the new vista of hope offered by this ceasefire to find a lasting resolution to the age-long Palestine Question which is central to the instability in the region. A fully-fledged State of Palestine should become a reality sooner rather than later.
May this ceasefire mark the beginning of a lasting peace in the Middle East and the world at large.